Nutritional Status and Prevalence of Vitamin A Deficiency among Preschool Children in Urban Slums of Chennai City

Abstract

Micro nutrient deficiency is a serious public health concern in most of the developing countries. Those which are of greatest public health significance include iron deficiency, vitamin A deficiency and iodine deficiency disorders. Lack of vitamin A has left upto 40 per cent of children less than five years old in the developing world with compromised immune system leading to the early deaths of one million young children every year.